NEW DELHI: For the first time the Indian government has admitted that at least one of the 26/11 terror handlers could be Indian, Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram, speaking an Indian news TV, amitted that there could have been an Indian hand in the Mumbai terror attacks.
He said that voice samples of the suspect from Pakistan were essential to conclusively establish the identity of Abu Jindal, who is suspected to the Indian handler.
"There was a handler in 26/11 whom we have known for long, or suspected for a long time, could be an Indian."
Jindal is one of the alleged masterminds of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. It is believed that his real name could be Syed Zabiuddin Ansari.
He is wanted in the Aurangabad arms haul case as well as well as for plotting to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Ansari hails from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, the channel reports.
Chidambaram travels to Pakistan for a regional meeting this month, a visit that may lay the ground for improving ties which deteriorated after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram will be the first top level official to cross the border since the assault on India’s financial capital by gunmen which claimed 166 lives.
India blamed the attack on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group and broke off a four-year peace dialogue, demanding Islamabad bring the culprits to justice before talks could resume.
Foreign ministry officials said Chidambaram will meet his Pakistani counterpart, Rehman Malik, and other officials for talks that may have a narrow focus on what action Islamabad has taken in regard to the Mumbai attacks.
But the visit’s larger goal could be to create a forum for limited dialogue, leading to a calibrated easing of tension.
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